ISLAND LEADERS CONVENE FOR HIGH-LEVEL RECEPTION AT OUR OCEAN PANAMA

(Panama City, March 1, 2023) –The Local2030 Islands Network, a global, peer-to-peer island forum and their leaders, convened for a high-level reception in Panama at the 8th Our Ocean Conference. Palauan President Whipps, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Kerry, U.S. Ambassador to Panama Aponte, and U.S. Secretary of the Navy Del Toro offered their support for the Network noting the unique role the Local2030 Islands Network plays in addressing the climate crisis.    
    
President Whipps announced a new Dashboard Coordinator who will help operationalize the Palau National Dashboard, further advancing Palau’s commitment to the Local2030 Islands Network.  Palau hosted the Our Ocean Conference last year, and Whipps acknowledged the U.S. Secretary of the Navy and State Department’s support for the Network, calling it a real partnership. “This Network is really about islands helping islands. We will continue to encourage all other islands to join and get involved. We believe that we are stronger together and definitely stronger when we are paddling together,” said Whipps.
 
The Local2030 Islands Network announced the April 2-6 inaugural in-person gatherings of two of its Communities of Practice (COP) on Sustainable and Regenerative Tourism and Data for Climate Resilience, which will convene global island leaders, practitioners and technical experts in Honolulu. The COP cements the Network as the only global island forum for peer-to-peer exchange on locally and culturally driven island and ocean focused solutions for accelerating progress on global sustainability goals.